Hi again.

There’s still the whole of the AHL season to go before the Hockeyroos get together again but I thought you might like to know what's coming up as 2009 is going to be an exciting year for Australian hockey. 

Looking to the future with the Hockeyroos, it’s good to know we’ll have Frank Murray in charge for another four years and will be helped by Jason Butcher, Katrina Powell and Jeremy Davy.

The next squad won’t be named until closer to the 2009 Champions Trophy, which is an annual competition between the top six hockey nations in the world. And this year it’s going to be in Australia!

The women’s tournament is held in July in Sydney and the Kookaburras get their turn in November in Melbourne.

The Australian Women’s team haven’t won since 2003 so we have high hopes and high expectations for the tournament.

We’ve lost a few players from the Olympic squad - Angie Lambert, Rachel Imison, Melanie Wells and Sarah Young have all retired, but we will have a strong team and we will be raring to go.

The Netherlands, who are the Olympic Champions, and Germany will be two teams to watch, and also China will be strong.

It’s a long way off but something for all hockey fans to look forward to. Check out the Hockey Australia website and keep reading my Sports Log for more details.

I hope all the hockey players out there enjoy their Christmas break and have a
great New Year.
Kobes